ABC Improves on the Same Night Last Year in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

ABC’s “Millionaire” is No. 1 at 8pm in Total Viewers for the 2nd Monday in a Row

Standing as Monday’s No. 1 Program in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34,

“Dating in the Dark” Wins its Hour for the 4th Time in 5 Telecasts in Both Demos

Monday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC’s Monday lineup improved on the same night last year (8/18/08) by 2.2 million viewers (5.0 million vs. 2.8 million) and by 75% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/4 vs. 0.8/2).

“Millionaire-8/17” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC’s “Millionaire” stood as the No. 1 program in Monday’s 8 o’clock hour in Total Viewers (7.0 million) for the 2nd week in a row, beating second-place CBS (4.8 million) by 2.2 million viewers.

On average through 7 telecasts of its 11-night, 10th-anniversary event, “Millionaire” is improving ABC’s performance in the time periods by 3.7 million viewers (6.9 million vs. 3.2 million) and by 40% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/5 vs. 1.0/3), over the same nights last year.

“Dating in the Dark” (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Growing from the previous week’s performance for the second week in a row, ABC’s “Dating in the Dark” turned in its strongest numbers in Total Viewers (4.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.8/5) since “The Bachelorette” ended its run.The freshman unscripted program finished second in the 9 o’clock hour in Adults 18-49, while winning the time period in Adults 18-34 (1.8/6) and Women 18-34 (2.3/7). In fact, it was the 4th time in its 5 telecasts that “Dating in the Dark” ranked No. 1 in its time period in the latter two demographics.

“Dating in the Dark” qualified as Monday’s No. 1 program in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 32% currently, from 26% at the same point in 2008. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Program Ratings), 8/17/09, or as dated.